How to Find and Update Drivers

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This wikiHow teaches you how to update your computer's drivers. Drivers are pieces of software which help your computer connect to hardware items such as speakers, USB drives, and so on. Drivers are typically installed and updated automatically whenever you connect the hardware to your computer, but you may occasionally need to use your computer's update tool to take care of a stuck driver. If you're on a Windows computer, you can also view and update drivers from within the Device Manager program, and both Windows and Mac users can download and install drivers directly from a manufacturer's website.

Click the Updates tab if necessary. If the App Store doesn't open to the "Updates" tab, click this tab at the top of the App Store window to open it. You should see all pending or available updates, including drivers, listed here.

Understand when to use this method. Device Manager allows you to search for Microsoft-approved drivers online, but you should only use Device Manager after using Windows Update to search for driver software. The reason for this is that Windows Update is more likely to find the correct drivers the first time.

Select your hardware item. Click once the name of the hardware item for which you want to update the drivers.

If you don't see the item here, it isn't installed on your computer. Close Device Manager, plug in or pair the item with your computer, follow any on-screen prompts, and then re-open the item's category in Device Manager before proceeding.

Follow any installation prompts. If drivers are available, you'll be prompted to install them; depending on the hardware item, you may have to click through a few prompts before the installation will begin.

You may be asked to restart your computer after completing the update process.

If you receive a message that says "The best drivers for your device are already installed", Windows can't find the correct driver files to use. You can still try installing a driver from the manufacturer's website if you're certain that your hardware item's drivers are outdated.

Determine the hardware you want to update. When installing drivers manually, you'll be downloading the driver files directly from the manufacturer. You'll need to know the manufacturer and the model of the hardware you're trying to update.

For example, if you own a Razer keyboard, you'll find the drivers on the Razer website.

If you have a laptop, you can usually find all of the drivers you need from your laptop manufacturer's page.

You can find the model information in the documentation that came with your hardware. You can also find the model information in Device Manager if Windows was able to recognize it.

Visit the manufacturer's website. Once you've determined what you want to update, you'll need to visit the manufacturer's support site. Below are some of the most common ones. If your manufacturer is not listed here, you can find it with a quick web search:

Find the "Downloads" or "Drivers" section. This process will vary from site to site, but in most cases, you'll find the Drivers or Downloads tab near the top of the main page, though you may first have to select or click Support there.

You may need to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and then click Support or Drivers there to open the drivers page.

Run the drivers' installer. Double-click the downloaded setup file and follow any on-screen prompts. If you downloaded the drivers in a ZIP folder, you will first need to extract them by doing the following:

Community Q&A

I am inundated with several driver update programs. What exactly is a driver? Do I need driver update? Which is the best legit program?

Community Answer

A driver is a program that controls a particular type of device that is attached to your computer. Drivers also control the hardware of your PC. You don't exactly have to update them, meaning your computer won't stop working if you don't, but it's extremely beneficial to do so, because by updating your drivers you help your devices work to their fullest potential. The best program for me is "Driver Booster" by IObit. This program scans your computer for any outdated drivers and automatically downloads and installs the latest drivers. You can use it for free but there is a paid version too with more features.

My Windows was repaired; now it is slow and tells me I have a driver in it that's not compatible with stuff. What do I do?

Aditya Telang

Community Answer

Firstly, check which hardware is giving you trouble and uninstall the incompatible driver. Next, check the hardware specification, usually found on the hardware or on the cover. Once you have found it, go to that manufacturer's website and download the corresponding latest device driver and install it. Then restart your system to load the driver. Alternatively, you can use Google to search for the driver directly. If you have trouble figuring out what driver you need, you can use Method 3 of this article to automatically download the correct driver. Microsoft Windows 10 has information on almost all of the devices used these days to automatically download and update the device drivers.

Tips

Warnings

If installing the correct drivers for the hardware doesn't fix your hardware problems, your hardware item most likely isn't compatible with your computer or your version of the computer's operating system.

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This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.